police state

Japans new pre-crime surveillance

Earlier today, after an intentionally rushed consideration process, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe passed a new mass surveillance law conveniently called the “anti-conspiracy bill.” The new law creates a list of 277 acts, and makes it illegal to plan any of these acts. With the vague wording of the bill, anyone suspected of planning any of these acts could be put under targeted surveillance. Of course, the Japanese government has promised not to overstep their boundaries and emphasized that the new law is only meant to increase security before the 2020 Olympics.

New York City Restricted Dogs on the Subway, so People Started Doing This

(ANTIMEDIA) Drug laws are often highlighted as examples of the failure of prohibition. From the United States’ notorious – and ineffective — ban on alcohol in the 1920s to the current restrictions on cannabis, it’s easy to see how such laws fail to produce the intended results.
But New Yorkers have recently provided another, cuter example of this dynamic: they’re bucking a ban on animals in the subway.

Really, how much surveillance is enough?

Imagine mass surveillance as a line from 0 to 100. Zero is total anarchy and no control at all. One hundred is total control and surveillance of all the people, in all places, all the time.
So, where are we today? At 45? 60? 75?
Second, in which direction are we moving? Right you are, towards 100.
At which point will this become dangerous, for real? Should we say stop? Can we say stop? Is it too late to say stop? Discuss.